Portable fire escape



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W. H. ROBERTS. PQRTABLEHRE ESCAPE. No. 333,313. Y Patented May 31, 1387.

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PATENT lWILLIAM II. ROBERTS, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

PORTABLE FmE-EsbAr-a SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,913, dated May 31, 1887.

I Application tiled July 22, 1886. Serial No. 208.814. (No model.)

T @ZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that l, WILLIAM H. Romanas, of the city of Indianapolis, Marion county, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Portable Fire- Eseapes, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to improvements in portable fire-escapes wherein governors are used to regulate the velocity of descending bodies; and the object of my improvement is to cheapen the cost, simplify the mechanism, and increase the utility of self-regulating or automatic lire-escapes, all of which objects I attain by means of the device described in this specification, and illustrated in the drawings tiled herewith and made a part hereof, and in which similar letters of reference relate to similar Vparts of my invention throughout said drawings, in whiehy f Figure l represents a side view of my fireescape; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section of my device on the line x m of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a front view; Fig. 4, a top view; Figs. 5, 6, and 7, detail drawings of parts of my invention, and Fig. 8 a building with my invention in position, showing the manner of attaching my device to buildings and the operat-ion of the same. l

In Fig. 1, d is a metal brake-drum, cast with a downwardly-projeetiug spindlap, to the top of which is fastened, by means of a screw, se, a stirrup, s, made to receive the hook h, by means of which my device is attached to its supportwhen in use. a is a supporting-arm having an aperture to it over the lower end of spindle p, Vto which it is firmly bolted and held in position by means of bolt b, two apertures, l and 2, at its outer end, th rough which the cable c freely passes, (see Fig. 4,) and an upwardly-projecting pin, '15, rigdlyattached, to receive and hold in position the metal guard g', which is a metal casting made to't loosely outside of the cable c, resting in the V-shaped groove c, formed by the beveled faces of flanges f and f, (see Fig. 5,) to hold the cable c in position and prevent its disengagement. g is a governor-arm, pivoted at p to the upper flange, f, which isrigidly attached to the sleeve or cylinder 7c. This governor is provided with a ball or weight at its outer end,

and is sutlieiently bent to fit snugly around the outside of brake-drum d. rEhe inner end of this governor is made to form a 'projection n thatoperates as the short arm of a lever, with its fulcrnm at p. (See Fig. 4.) f is a corrugated ange beveled on its upper side, and provided with a threaded aperture .in its center to fit onto the lower end-of .the sleeve o r cylinder latitting' loosely on ythe spindle p, the lower end of which sleeve is threaded to receive it, where it is held in position by means of a screw, sc. (See Fig. 2.) The Aribs r, Figs. and 6, or corrugations of flange f', are so arranged as to rest` midway between the ribs or corrugations of tlangef, the lower side of which is also beveled to form a V-shaped groove, o, when dange f is in position. (Sec Fig. 5.)

In Fig. 4, sp is a metal spring, semi-lunar in shape, the outer ends ot' which are made to rest loosely against the brake-drum d, and its middleA portion bent outward to forman elongated slot, SZ, which its loosely over a pin, t', between the short ends of governors g g. The outside of` this spring near its center rests loosely against the short arms of the governors g g and holds them in position, as shownl in full lines on Fig. 4, when my device is at rest.

In Fig. 8, Bis a building with my tire-escape attached to the casing of the window, showing the cables c, harness m m, safety-straps oz a a n, cords c c', and ball q, designed for throwing up into the window of a building not otherwise provided with a means of escape for vrpersons in peril.

To prepare my device for use, the necessary cables and mechanism having been provided, I remove bolt b from spindle p. The supporting-arm c is then removed from the spindle p, when the sleeve or cylinder k, which is held in position ou-the spindle by said arm, can be removed, the screw sc taken out, and iiange f unscrewed. I now pass the end of cable c up through the aperture 1 in the outer end of arm a, carry this end of the cable around the sleeve 7c, allowing it to pass between the guard g and sleeve la, and down through aperture 2 in arm a. I then fasten the harness m and safetystraps a a securely tothe end of cable c, replace the angef on the sleeve 7c, slip the IOC " by the centrifugal force thus evolved, vare parties in peril with means of escape.

. or( bedstead will furnish ample means of supsleeve on the spindle p, replace arm a, and insert bolt b, when my device is ready for use.

In case of a fire I have but to attach my device, by means of hook 71., to a staple in the window-casing provided for that purpose, or over the window-sash, or to any suitable object--such as a chair or table leg-slip the harness over my shoulder, allowing the same to pass under my arms, jump out'of the window, and am lowered to the ground without receiving the slightest shock, the cable c, to which the weight is suspended, passing around sleeve 7c in the V-shaped groove o, the ribs r, corrugations of which bring the pressure of the cable first against the upper and, then against the lower flanges, causing the sleeve 7c to revolve, carrying with it the governorsgg, which,

caused to extend outward, as indicated in dotted lines on Fig. 4, pressing the short ends of the levers against the spring sp, which is thereby pressed against the brake #drum d, checking the velocity of the revolutions and regulating the descent of the falling body attached to the cable.

Should parties wish to descend from the second or third story while the device is located in the fourth or fifth story, they have but to grasp the cord c' and draw the end of the cable c down to their hands, and for this purpose the cord c is made of suicientlength to reach from the ground to the upper story. The ball q, attached to the end of cord c', is for convenience in passing the end of this cord t0 persons in peril on any oor of a building. The importance of this simple device is obvious, as by means of this firemen can supply The advantages I derive from employing my invention are, first, by constructing my device asabovc described I obtain the desired strength with the least possible weight of metal, thus cheapening the cost of construction and increasing its utility; second, by means of the stirrup s and hook l1, I adapt my escape to any building, as a table or chair leg, windowsash,

port for my tire-escape; third, by means of the safety straps and harness provided on my cable three persons can escape from a building at` one and the same time, and by aid of theV ball q and cord c', l can pass my escape to persons in any story ofa building by simply throwing the ball through the proper window, allot' which objects are greatly to be desired.

Having thus described myinvention, its purposes, uses, and advantages, what-I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, as an improvement upon the patent to Powell, dated October 14, 1884, No. 306,520, fire-escape friction, is

1. The combination, with a brake-drum hav ing itstop detachably connected with a stirrup, and a downwardly-projecting spindle through its center, of asemi-lunar meta-l spring the central portion of which is bent outward so as to form an elongated slot, and governors pivoted near their smaller ends and provided at their outer ends with governing-balls, and attached to a revolving cylinder, forming, when the cylinder is in motion, a brake, sul)` stantially `in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

2. T he combination, with a cable provided at both ends with harness and safety straps, as illustrated, of a guide-arm having two apertures in its outer end,'an upwardly-projecting pin near its outer end, an aperture to fit over a downwardly-projectiug spindle rigidly attached to a brake-drum, and a cylinder or sleeve having beveled corrugated flanges and provided with braking governors, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of a sleeve or cylinder having rigidly mounted thereon a. corrugated iauge,with its under side beveled, and

its'upper side provided with an upwardlyprojecting'pin, to operate as a fulcrum for governing-levers, said sleeve or cylinder having a portion of its lower end threaded to receive a corrugated fiange having in its center a threaded aperture to fit over the end of said cylinder, and its upper side beveled to form when in positionwith a corresponding flange on said sleeve a V-shaped groove, governors pivoted near theirl smaller ends to operate as levers, with their fulcrums at their pivoted points, semi-lunar spring, and brake-drum, substantially in the manner and for the purpose. set forth.

4. A tire-escape consisting of a stirrup dctachably connected with the upper end of a brake-drum, having a downwardly-projecting spindle rigidly and centrally attached thereto to reeeiveand support a-looselyfitting cylinder or sleeve, 7c, provided with a corrugated beveled ange,f, having pivoted thereto two governors, g g. and an upwardly-projecting pin, t', semi-lunar brake spring, sp, said sleeve ha"- ing its lower end threaded to receive flange f', corrugated and iianged to form a V-shaped groove in conjunction with iiangef, a guide, y', and cable c with its attachments, all constructed, combined, and operated substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Marion county, Indiana, this 19th day of July, A. D. 1886.

VILLIAM II. ROBERTS. [1.. s]

In presence of-- ROY B. SMITH, GUsTAv BouN.

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